One little joke and the whole jury’s out

A West Virginia criminal jury was sent home today – and a trial postponed – after an impatient juror was heard to say, “The longer we sit here, the guiltier he gets.”

The defendent is a man accused of crashing his car into the West Virginia Veterans Memorial at the state capitol, reports the Charleston Gazette.

The jury, selected on Monday, had to wait around for trial to begin Tuesday morning. A bailiff overheard the juror’s comment, apparently intended as a joke. The judge told the lawyers, the defense asked for a new jury and the prosecution did not object.